"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

FROM AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATIONBreitbart.com columnist Brandon Darby plans to pursue a defamation lawsuit against a Democratic political consultant who accused Darby of perpetrating so-called “SWATtings” that have targeted several conservative activists in the past year.

Darby says that Neal Rauhauser falsely accused him of involvement in SWATtings, a dangerous type of illegal hoax that results in armed law enforcement raids against innocent individuals. News of Rauhauser’s accusation, and of Darby’s planned response, was announced today in a press release from the National Bloggers Club.

“Darby is being defamed by this dangerous, bizarre fringe activist because he has dared to speak the name ‘Brett Kimberlin,’ is a member of the National Bloggers Club, and associated with Andrew [Breitbart],” the Club’s president Ali Akbar said in the press release (full text below).

Kimberlin, a convicted domestic terrorist who founded two progressive non-profit organizations, has repeatedly filed lawsuits and other legal complaints against bloggers who wrote about Kimberlin’s criminal past. In May, blogger Aaron Walker was arrested after a Maryland hearing in a case involving Kimberlin. Walker was also the target of a SWATting last month.

Rauhauser is a political operative who co-founded the Democrat consulting firm Progressive PST. Rauhauser has described Kimberlin as a “client” and, in e-mails and blog comments, represented himself as an agent of Kimberlin’s non-profit 501(c)4 group, Velvet Revolution.

Akbar said that the National Bloggers Club will “encourage Darby to use all legal remedies in this clear case of defamation,” including the possibility of “pursuing criminal conspiracy” charges against Rauhauser.

UPDATE: Rauhauser’s association with Kimberlin apparently began a year ago, after Rauhauser became obsessed with the cybersex scandal involving Rep. Anthony Weiner, which forced the formerly popular New York Democrat to resign from Congress.

UPDATE II: Kimberlin’s Velvet Revolution non-profit gained publicity after the 2004 election by leveling accusations of vote-rigging by Republicans. A January 2007 Time magazine article noted that Kimberlin had “found a home in the blogosphere” by “repeatedly asserting as fact things that are not true.” Kimberlin’s organization has also made charges of criminal wrongdoing against such public figures as GOP political strategist Karl Rove, U.S. Chamber of Commerce president Tom Donohue and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

AUSTIN, TX — Democratic operative and self-proclaimed “hacker” Neal Rauhauser has accused Brandon Darby of “SWATting.” Darby is a political activist and former FBI operative.
Darby has the full support of the National Bloggers Club, an organization that represents hundreds of bloggers and online journalists. The Club will raise funds (using KimberlinFiles.org) and encourage Darby to use all legal remedies in this clear case of defamation and explore pursuing criminal conspiracy options.
“Convicted domestic terrorist turned left-wing ideologue activist Brett Kimberlin runs two liberal non-profit organizations. His contracted employee, Neal Rauhauser, has accused one of our members of being the perpetrator of these illegal, coordinated attacks. We are standing with our members, many of whom — myself included — have been targeted by supporters of Brett Kimberlin,” said National Bloggers Club President Ali A. Akbar.
Akbar continued, “Darby is being defamed by this dangerous, bizarre fringe activist because he has dared to speak the name “Brett Kimberlin,” is a member of the National Bloggers Club, and associated with Andrew. Andrew associated himself with the Bloggers Club, I’ll associate the Club with Darby any day of the week.”
SWATting is the term used to describe the illegal use of technology to place an untraceable emergency call to falsely report a serious, violent crime. The caller typically gives the emergency dispatcher the address and personal information belonging to the victim, claiming that people in the house have been shot and that the caller is armed inside the home. By protocol, law enforcement then sends armed officers to the scene. Last week, after winning a courtroom victory in Maryland against Kimberlin, blogger Aaron Walker was targeted by a SWATting call that sent police to his Virginia home.
“Thank God no one has been killed as a result of SWATting — yet. I strongly believe the continued use of these tactics will result in a horrible tragedy — which is exactly what the perpetrators want,” said Akbar.

2) Is anyone tracking the donations Mr. Kimberlin’s organizations have been receiving from Tides, Soros, etc? I don’t have the resources but I’m guessing that an experienced investigative reporter could get at that. I’d like to know if he’s still getting money from these foundations. I’d want to ask the directors of the foundations if they’re aware of his past. I’d want to ask for the copies of the reports that I’m just sure Kimberlin filed with the foundations to account for the money (he did file reports, didn’t he?).

As the wise old man once said, follow the money.

http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/EU5DQWQTTHTPO4A4ZYSL3AAV2U Adjoran

Of course there is no money to be recovered from the deadbeat Rauhauser. BUT an immediate filing – instead of empty threats – could stop him and his associates from deleting their files, and give the potential for subpoenas to get other records.

He sure as heck repeated the accusation, didn’t he? And said he thought the voice sounded like Darby’s, which is ludicrous. Mid-range male voices lacking strong regional markers was about the only resemblance.

http://profiles.google.com/dianna.deeley Dianna Deeley

Annual report season is upon us; non-profits file their 990’s (annual tax return) on May 15th. It’s usually during the summer that most foundations write and publish their annual reports. By September, at least some 990’s will be up on Guidestar. If you have time, look for Tides and Threshold.

As for Kimberlin’s organizations, well, in 2010 both JTMP and VR filed two extensions, meaning the 990’s were not up until after November. It would not surprise me if the same situation applied again.

http://profiles.google.com/dianna.deeley Dianna Deeley

Nonprofits are supposed to hang onto everything – including simple queries – for years on end. You don’t even shred your bank statements for 10 years, generally.

Oh, and the books are in the charge of the “Executive Director” (same person for both organizations), who is a lawyer.

costume

With all due respect, and I really mean that, this ongoing debacle seems to be turning into a slapping contest. From what I’ve read about all of these goings on for weeks now, there are claims of clear criminal activity. Why is this being played out so publicly without any evident law enforcement involvement?

This is like the Hatfields and McCoys but without shotguns.And if the criminal activity is so far untraceable, why isn’t there some sort of rallying on the conservative side to bring in some legal council and civil actions with real consequences? Aren’t there organizations out there with an interest in stopping the criminal harassment and endangerment of people who are simply expressing an opinion or reporting stories?I understand that this has been a horrible experience for several people involved but it just seems to be a never ending game of accusations. Anyway, I hesitate to lay this out like this but it really seems like beyond the point that this needs to dealt with more finality.

But an action against Rauhauser wouldn’t necessarily be a ticket to what amounts to the right to audit organizations he works for – unless there is some plausible reason to expect it was part of his duties or he was directed to do it on behalf of the group, would it?

I’d bet the guy has no tangible personal assets to seize. Maybe it would be interesting to see what else he’s been up to online and off but, as I said in the first place, we already know he tends to obsessively scrub his tracks periodically and until he is served with some filing there isn’t any way to stop him from continuing that practice.

crosspatch

We have a justice department that apparently sees nothing wrong with intentionally smuggling thousands of guns across the boarder and slaughtering hundreds of citizens of our neighboring country in order to advance a political policy of gun control.

We have an administration that decides which laws they will and won’t enforce and it some cases appears to make up its own laws as it goes along.

We have an administration that turns a blind eye to voter intimidation and fraud when it goes in their direction.

We have all of that in the context of a political organization that despises the notion of there being absolute right and wrong, mocks religion, celebrates the killing of babies.

Frankly, what do you expect? The Democrats have basically gone to the dark side. They have become evil incarnate and I seriously mean that. This is beyond politics, we are talking civil decency here. They are TRYING to start a “prairie fire”. They have gone off the rails. How any normal, well-adjusted human being can align with that political party and look themselves in the mirror in the morning is beyond me.

And the so-called professional “journalists” are a major part of the problem because they are the ones who enable the coverups, the looking the other way, the lying. This is beyond politics, this is basic fundamental right and wrong and they have made quite clear which side they are on.

As long as we have Democrats in charge at the federal level and in the State of Maryland, I don’t believe a thing will be done about it. They are corrupt to the very core of their being.

I think that you insult uncivilized animals, crosspatch. But it’ll do for now. Utterly outrageous.

Donkeytale999

why no link to the allegedly defamatory statements?

I have followed your reporting previously and praised it.

Recently, however, you appear to be functioning much less as a reporter and more as a Press Agent for Brandon Darby and the National Blogger Club.

Are you being compensated by either Darby/ NBC or any other participant in the Kimberlin Kerfluffle?

(and yes, grammar police, I am aware of the misspelling—as a noted neologist who invented the satirical internet meme known as “mispellicism” I’m consciously putting the accent on “fluff” to describe this entire affair, which IMHO is little more than an elaborate, soap operatic ARG designed for bored internet addicts and to make Tip Jars jangle on both sides of the ideological divide)

http://profile.yahoo.com/33HPE5QXZ6ANDAHDQ2QNVCGMK4 R

Who is compensating you to ridicule Kimberlin’s victims?

costume

Well, while we probably share similar political philosophies, I don’t see all Democrats as evil. I have too many good hearted but misguided Democrat friends to believe that.

With a majority in the House, I just find it odd that the players in this situation can’t find a sympathetic ear on capital hill.

Kimberlin sounds like a real jackass who’s willing to break the law as it suits him and with no regard for the personal safety of his opponents. But the response to Kimberlin and his cronies strikes me as having been high on blog postings and low on results.

crosspatch

I used to believe that, too. But what I see now is a Democratic party leadership that has become completely rotten and many rank and file Democrats who still haven’t accepted that. Sure, there are some good folks that are Democrats. They need to take a hard look at their political leadership and ask themselves why that is. The Democratic party itself is a party that has no issue killing people to advance its agenda. Do they really want to align themselves with people like that?

“Good people” who continue to vote for enslavement are no such thing. They are delusional, believing that they will be exempted from the inevitable chains — or they are themselves tyrants-in-waiting, hoping to be handed a whip to use against the rest of us.